John Dewey has defined the school as a society in miniature. This course introduces key concepts from the discipline of sociology as tools to assist educators in analyzing and understanding the issues confronted by students new to American language and culture. Topics include issues confronting students in the larger society as well as within the school environment: learning differences, gender, race, ethnicity, class, family, and social structures. The course focuses on dynamics of group and individual interactions as multi-cultural and multilingual teachers, staff, parents, community leaders, and others seek to create schools as learning communities.